# Sports Dividing lines **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506 "2007-05-25T17:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/21 "2007-05-28T02:28:40Z")
as someone who lived in both southeast and southwest Connecticut, I can attest that the entire STATE of Connecticut is the dividing line for Red Sox and Yankee fans. Even my entire family (most of whom live in CT and Rhode Island) was divided down the middle between the two teams, and my schools in both Stonington and Westport had about half and half Yankees and Red Sox fans. I’ve always been a registered independant, although I WAS rooting for the Red Sox to finally win the world series just to finally shut everybody up - Yankee fans couldn’t taunt anymore, and Red Sox fans can’t do the “woe is me” whine. Connecticut is a bit more clear cut when it comes to football. In southeastern CT, it’s Patriots all the way. Despite what RealityChuck said, southwestern CT (Westport anyway) was pretty divided between Jets and Patriots. I did not know even ONE Giants fan. As far as hockey is concerned, once The Whale left, the sport pretty much died along with it (except all those damn people around Hartford who finally started going to The Mall–yes, the Hartford Civic Center was an honest to goodness MALL–when The Wolfpack moved in). And as far as basketball, it’s all about Uconn…screw the NBA, and doubley screw the Mohegan Suns. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/22 "2007-05-28T11:32:02Z")
Isn’t Fairfield County, Connecticut, which is in the New York metro area, the only county in Connecticut that can’t get Red Sox games on local TV? ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/23 "2007-05-28T14:55:12Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] The Steelers, as well as all Pittsburgh teams, have heavy support in Northern West Virginia, but who does the Southern part of the state support? DC? Cinncinatti? [/QUOTE] The Redskins are the other team in WV that are shown on Fox, probably since someone can live in the Eastern Panhandle around Harpers Ferry and commute to DC on a daily basis. Youngstown, Ohio is a line between the Steelers and Browns. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/24 "2007-05-28T16:28:05Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] But I bet they’re huge in Rhode Island. If I’m not mistaken, don’t the Bruins have some high-level farm team in Pawtucket? [/QUOTE] FWIW, the Boston Bruins (NHL)'s top farm club is the AHL’s Providence (Rhode Island) Bruins. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/25 "2007-05-28T17:59:52Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Socks] Isn’t Fairfield County, Connecticut, which is in the New York metro area, the only county in Connecticut that can’t get Red Sox games on local TV? [/QUOTE] Yes, Cablevision didn’t carry NESN (New England Sports Network). Not only that, but they also refused to carry YES (I assume the Y stands for Yankees and the S for sports, but don’t know what the E is) for the first two years it was in service, so no Yankees either. On the weekends, the ABC affiliate in New Haven (channel 8…I forget the call letters) would carry The Whale, but weeknight games were on NESN and we never got those either. I remember that DirectTV dishes began popping up EVERYWHERE as soon as the NO TO YES decision was made, and Cablevision eventually learned they were making a huge mistake by denying their customers what they wanted. It was all a cause of stupid politics, since they own Madison Square Garden, and thus the MSG sports network and apparently didn’t want people watching other sports channels not owned by them. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/26 "2007-05-28T22:37:57Z")
The diving line between the Cubs & Cardinals seems to run right through Springfield, Illinois. Half of this town is rabid Cards fans, and the other half is rabid Cubs fans. About ten miles north, it’s all Cubs. Ten miles south, it’s all Cards. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/27 "2007-05-28T22:45:36Z")
Connecticut had its own NHL team for long enough to create an antipathy for the Bruins and Rangers both. Now, they just don’t care much about the NHL at all (and neither does most of the rest of the country). Even for Whalers-Bruins playoff games, though, they’d never sell out the Hartford Civic Center without - you guessed it - advertising ticket sales in Boston too. The Patriots are the _New England_ Patriots, and have been since the early 70’s, and that does expand their loyal fan base, despite reneging on the Hartford stadium deal. When I lived near Princeton, that was definitely New York oriented in all regards including sports, but the relatives in Trenton were all Philly fans. I think you can put that line right through Lawrenceville. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/28 "2007-05-28T23:04:49Z")
[QUOTE=Key Lime Guy] Providence. [/QUOTE] Key Lime Guy, I’m sorry I missed this post earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/29 "2007-05-29T00:59:01Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] (I assume the Y stands for Yankees and the S for sports, but don’t know what the E is) [/QUOTE] It stands for Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506/30 "2007-05-29T02:33:22Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] The diving line between the Cubs & Cardinals seems to run right through Springfield, Illinois. Half of this town is rabid Cards fans, and the other half is rabid Cubs fans. About ten miles north, it’s all Cubs. Ten miles south, it’s all Cards. [/QUOTE] The whole Cards-Cubs division in central Illinois is a blur. There are small towns barely outside the shadow of the Arch with diehard Cub fans. Springfield is, inded, split almost 50-50, but so is Bloomington, 70 miles to the north. OTOH, Peoria, just a half hour or so from Bloomington is solidly Cubbie. Champaign seems to lean blue, while Decatur leans red. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sports-dividing-lines/405506.md?page=1)